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Employment Law

Must we rehire strikers when labor dispute ends? We may want to keep replacement workers

07/02/2010
Q. A group of our employees recently voted to strike. To ensure that our operations aren’t disrupted, we would like to hire replacement workers. When the strike ends, will we be required to reinstate the strikers?

2 small companies, 1 owner: Could we be covered by the FMLA?

07/02/2010
Q. We are a small manufacturing company with 16 employees. We distribute our products through another company, which we also own. The distribution company has 38 employees. One of our manufacturing employees is pregnant and has asked for time off. She says she is entitled to leave under the FMLA. Is this true?

Lawyer gets $8.7 million after deception about firm’s stability

07/02/2010
A Texas jury has awarded $8.77 million to an attorney who says his career was derailed when he went to work for a law firm that was embroiled in a nasty dispute between partners.

DOJ grant to fight employment bias along Mexican border

07/02/2010
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, who represents the 15th District of Texas in Congress, recently announced that the Justice Department has awarded $59,546 to fund a project aimed at reducing employment discrimination against Texans authorized to work in the United States regardless of their national origin.

Dallas hospital owes $3.6 million for discrimination

07/02/2010
A federal jury in Dallas has awarded Dr. Naiel Nassar more than $3.6 million after he sued the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) at Dallas for religious and race discrimination.

Some internal complaints may qualify as whistle-blowing

07/02/2010
The Texas Whistleblower Act protects some employees who report violations of the law to “an appropriate law enforcement authority.” But does that include complaining up the employer’s chain of command? Sometimes.

Beware discussions concerning employee longevity

07/02/2010
Casual business conversations can come back to haunt you if some comments imply that you could save money without so many long-term employees.

Good news: Texas Supreme Court says no double claims for sexual harassment

07/02/2010

The Texas Supreme Court has issued a ruling in a closely watched sexual harassment case involving a woman who charged co-worker sexual harassment and common-law failure to supervise. The court said that because the underlying facts were the same for both claims, the woman could sue only for sexual harassment.

Looking for ‘creative’ ways to avoid overtime? Courts will look for ways to make you pay

07/02/2010

Before you are tempted to come up with clever ways to avoid paying overtime to employees, consider this: It’s usually easy for courts to see through such ruses. And after they discover shenanigans, courts usually reward the wronged employee with a bonus payment equal to the lost overtime wages—plus the employer has to pay the legal fees.

Opt-in to Texas workers’ comp to cut liability

07/02/2010

Good news if you’ve opted into the Texas workers’ compensation system and you sometimes rely on temporary staffing agencies to supply workers. If one of those workers gets hurt on your premises—and if you control crucial elements of the worker’s day, such as telling him when to work and take breaks, and supply tools or equipment—you may be saved from direct liability for the injury. Workers’ comp will cover the injury.